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A review by bookish_notes
Bloodbath by K.A. Merikan
4.0
This book takes me the longest time to read every single time I read it. It’s not because it’s bad or anything, but it’s just SO intense that I can only read little parts of it at a time. That was true for when I read this book the first time in e-book when it was first coming out, and it’s the same thing the second time around while listening to the audiobook. I think the book is great, but it also gives me anxiety? I have come to realize that stories where the main characters are undercover with great threat to their lives gives me anxiety while reading. I loved reading from Seth and Dom’s perspectives in this book, but I do find that Mark’s chapters drag a little. It all goes fast though if you're listening to the story in audio, so I guess I didn't mind too much.
Content notes include misogyny, homomisia, bimisia, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug use, violent murders, non consensual relationship that is challenged in this book, and animal death.
You know you’re in for an intense time when a book in the middle of the series decides to start off with a sex scene. That’s just how it goes with dark romance books that follow a couple through multiple books, because you just KNOW they’re probably not hooking up again for awhile. Seth, Dom, Mark, and their new vengeful friend Miguel are looking to infiltrate Toro’s inner circle which will lead them one step closer to their intended target, Toro's boss, Raul Moreno. Raul Moreno is an extremely terrifying man and his son Nero is equally unpredictable. We also meet back up with Dana in this book, who has been spying on Toro for Dom.
The first time I read this book, I had not read all the Sex & Mayhem series books that the authors had published at the time. While it’s not entirely necessary to read that series, if readers want more information on Dana during the time she spent away from Seth and Dom in this series, I would definitely check out book 6 from the Sex & Mayhem series (One Step Too Close) with the Coffin Nails MC from Louisiana. That’s the book with the most overlap with the Guns n’ Boys series. Not necessary reading, but I recommend it.
There’s definitely a lot of things about this series I appreciate more in hindsight. I didn’t care for Nero when we first met him, but knowing he has a spin-off book where he gets his HEA? It puts him in a different light. He comes off as extremely unhinged all things considered. He’s a gay man in a cartel who flaunts his sexuality with no shame or fear. This almost gets Seth and Dom killed. Nero even has his teeth shaved to resemble shark teeth, which is a CHOICE and creepy as hell. So for anyone who may not like Nero in this book, I'm just going to tell you that you will come to love him if you don't already.
Although I can’t say I loved Charlotte in this book, I do appreciate her character in that it eventually leads Mark to get his HEA. Charlotte in British and comes from a rich family, and has unluckily been captured by a human trafficking operation that leads her to Seth, Dom, Mark, and Miguel. I guess my one positive note about her character showing up in this book is that I enjoy her character much more in audiobook form than in text because the audiobook narrator, Wyatt Baker, has to do a British accent for her every time she speaks.
And speaking of audiobooks, I love Wyatt Baker as the audiobook narrator for this series. He does excellent work and I think this series challenges him more than other audiobooks I’ve listened to him do in the past because he really has to COMMIT to doing accents. He does retain his normal American accent while reading character thoughts and the third-person POV narration, but when the characters speak? Italian for Seth and Dom. Sometimes German, American, Russian, or British for Dom as well when Dom is donning a persona. But luckily, the choice was made that with all the Latin American characters in this series, no accent in attempted (they just sound American) and I’m fine with that. Because that could go wrong very quickly. I can’t wait for the audiobook for Mark and Griffith’s book because Griffith has his own POV chapters and he’s British. That’s going to be fun to listen to.
Like I said at the beginning, this book is extremely intense and we see Dom fraying at the seams for once and not being able to keep his cool as he would normally be able to do during an undercover mission. He has more at stake this time with his husband (Seth) and their adopted son (Mark) in the fray. They are not expertly trained in lying and living among the worst of men like Dom was. So, he worries. But what we do see here is that Dom is willing to do anything for his family, and Seth and Mark really stepping up their game.
I enjoyed this book, and it’s a needed part of the story as we follow Seth and Dom’s journey at maybe one day finally being able to go back to Italy.
Content notes include misogyny, homomisia, bimisia, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug use, violent murders, non consensual relationship that is challenged in this book, and animal death.
You know you’re in for an intense time when a book in the middle of the series decides to start off with a sex scene. That’s just how it goes with dark romance books that follow a couple through multiple books, because you just KNOW they’re probably not hooking up again for awhile. Seth, Dom, Mark, and their new vengeful friend Miguel are looking to infiltrate Toro’s inner circle which will lead them one step closer to their intended target, Toro's boss, Raul Moreno. Raul Moreno is an extremely terrifying man and his son Nero is equally unpredictable. We also meet back up with Dana in this book, who has been spying on Toro for Dom.
The first time I read this book, I had not read all the Sex & Mayhem series books that the authors had published at the time. While it’s not entirely necessary to read that series, if readers want more information on Dana during the time she spent away from Seth and Dom in this series, I would definitely check out book 6 from the Sex & Mayhem series (One Step Too Close) with the Coffin Nails MC from Louisiana. That’s the book with the most overlap with the Guns n’ Boys series. Not necessary reading, but I recommend it.
There’s definitely a lot of things about this series I appreciate more in hindsight. I didn’t care for Nero when we first met him, but knowing he has a spin-off book where he gets his HEA? It puts him in a different light. He comes off as extremely unhinged all things considered. He’s a gay man in a cartel who flaunts his sexuality with no shame or fear. This almost gets Seth and Dom killed. Nero even has his teeth shaved to resemble shark teeth, which is a CHOICE and creepy as hell. So for anyone who may not like Nero in this book, I'm just going to tell you that you will come to love him if you don't already.
Although I can’t say I loved Charlotte in this book, I do appreciate her character in that it eventually leads Mark to get his HEA. Charlotte in British and comes from a rich family, and has unluckily been captured by a human trafficking operation that leads her to Seth, Dom, Mark, and Miguel. I guess my one positive note about her character showing up in this book is that I enjoy her character much more in audiobook form than in text because the audiobook narrator, Wyatt Baker, has to do a British accent for her every time she speaks.
And speaking of audiobooks, I love Wyatt Baker as the audiobook narrator for this series. He does excellent work and I think this series challenges him more than other audiobooks I’ve listened to him do in the past because he really has to COMMIT to doing accents. He does retain his normal American accent while reading character thoughts and the third-person POV narration, but when the characters speak? Italian for Seth and Dom. Sometimes German, American, Russian, or British for Dom as well when Dom is donning a persona. But luckily, the choice was made that with all the Latin American characters in this series, no accent in attempted (they just sound American) and I’m fine with that. Because that could go wrong very quickly. I can’t wait for the audiobook for Mark and Griffith’s book because Griffith has his own POV chapters and he’s British. That’s going to be fun to listen to.
Like I said at the beginning, this book is extremely intense and we see Dom fraying at the seams for once and not being able to keep his cool as he would normally be able to do during an undercover mission. He has more at stake this time with his husband (Seth) and their adopted son (Mark) in the fray. They are not expertly trained in lying and living among the worst of men like Dom was. So, he worries. But what we do see here is that Dom is willing to do anything for his family, and Seth and Mark really stepping up their game.
I enjoyed this book, and it’s a needed part of the story as we follow Seth and Dom’s journey at maybe one day finally being able to go back to Italy.